Explain why the Egg is so much better than my gas Weber.

Unknown

PLEASE be kind! I have been cooking on the Weber gas for 15+ years and have turned out alot of very nice food. I have decided to try lump cooking and was going to get a Weber kettle and came across the BGE web site. I am always up for the best toys but what makes the BGE worth the money that the gas grill can't do? I do admit I don't do slow low cooking overnight and the pulled pork sure looks good, but when I do a chicken on the rotating spit on the gas grill it comes out great. Steaks and pork and fish also come out great. So, any other converts what to sell me on what I can expect better?
Thanks

Car Wash Mike

<p />Kevin,
I also have the spit for chicken and haven't used it for about 3 years. About the same time I bought my egg for beer butt chicken.
Ribs and pulled pork. I think you answered your own question.[p]
CWM[p]

ravnhaus

Kevin,
A pictures is worth a thousand words.
Go to the photo essay section.
[ul][li]Ravnhaus BBQ & Egg site[/ul]

germanshorthair

Kevin,[p]Modern day ceramics offered on the BGE offer excellent heat and moisture retaining qualities. This combined with the flexability of being a smoker,oven and grill make it even more special. I love charcoal flavor and this is why I didn't opt for a gas grill with it's cold & hot spots.
Food tastes better and doesn't dry out too.

Tim M

Kevin,[p]I use to have a gas Webber. It was easy to use, but lacked much flavor being added to the food. I never tried smoking woods which might have helped, but I did manage to ruin a dozen racks of good ribs on it. I just could not make it cook low and slow enough to do ribs in 4 hrs and the results of a slow cook on ribs is what makes them good. I would burn them up and dry them out on the gas Webber every time, even when set to indirect. I refused to boil them first! The taste of charcoal adds a lot that you just can't get from propane and even the Webber dries food much more than these ceramic cookers do so you can cook longer without making shoe leather. I use to do some really good hamburgers and hot dogs on my gas Webber, but had little luck with much else. I never tried a pork butt or pork loin and certainly never tried a pizza.[p]Tim
[ul][li]Tim M's house of ceramic[/ul]

Chubby

Kevin,[p]Follow Master Tim's wise council and become "One", with your cooker ......Grasshopper!![p]Chubby

Kelly Keefe

Kevin,
Where do you live? Can you cook in winter? If the answer is no or at least not without pulling out all the stops, then get a ceramic cooker. That was THE selling point for me. Or, as the wife put it, "If it'll keep you from whining all winter because you can't cook out, it's worth the price."[p]Kelly Keefe
Jefferson City, MO

Dawgtired

Kevin,
I was in the same boat as you just recently. I have a Weber Genesis that's about 15 years old and I had started spending some bucks on replacement parts. I debated, researched, debated some more, before I made my decision. As I stated in this forum, it takes me two hours to pick out a goldfish. That's a joke but I have to convince myself pretty hard on things like this. I sucked it up and got the large egg. I've had it for a little over a month now and I can tell you it was one of the best decisions I've made. I cooked on the Weber two to three times a week and thought I was doing something special. NOT!!!!!!!!! Do yourself a favor, get the egg, then gets some steaks and a cold drink. Look at the TRex method of cooking them, follow that and I guarantee you you'll wonder why you ever hesitated. The only problem is now when I get a steak at a restaurant I'm constantly disappointed since I've been to the mountain and I tasted the promised land.
Good Luck!

Unknown

All,
Thanks for the quick replys! I cook out as often as I can, even in the winter and I live here in CT. Nothing beats a cold beer and grilling with snow all around ya!
I did spend about 3 hours reading posts and getting educated before posting and it sounds like if you want to do a "simple" dinner, pork tenderloin, steaks, burgers it takes about the same amount of time to take the cover off, get it ready, lite it and wait for it to heat up and start cooking. It seems like it is a pain to clean and cook on the rack when it is down from the opening, alot of pictures show a raised up cooking rack. Do you need to wire brush the rack every time also?
I am sold on the BGE and can't wait to try some overnight cooking and some steaks cooked on a real grill!

Unknown

Kevin,[p]It really is ready to cook in about the same amount of time as a gasser. As far as cleaning goes, you have options. You can scrape the grill, or you can just open the vents wide open after you take your food off and let it get really hot and cook the stuff off...kinda like a self-cleaning oven. The grill only sits a few inches below the opening..its not a pain. You can put a platesetter and pizza stone on top of it, and its just above the opening..perfect for cooking pizza. There's also an extender that is basically a second cooking surface on top of the grill. The platesetter can be inverted to cook things indirect..it holds a drip pan, the inverted legs support the grill above it. Its just a lot more versatile than a gas grill, food tastes better on charcoal, its fuel efficient, and the ceramic retains moisture in the food far better than any other material.[p]I've never seen a disappointed owner come on here and gripe about it, but you've seen how many enthusiastic owners are here daily to rave about it. I don't think Weber has a forum quite like that, do they?

Unknown

dang it...meant to include the link so you could see pictures of the extender and platesetter.

[ul][li]pics[/ul]

Mike in MN

Kelly Keefe,
Absolutely. That was one of my main reasons for buying a BGE. I was never able to BBQ in the winter here in Minnesota. Lets make that Fall through Spring. The BGE has changed that. It works fine in the most miserable of weather. You can even do the overnighters without a problem. I had problems (minor temp fluctuations) once when I cooked during a bit of a storm. It was minus 20°(F), and the wind was howling (25+) I got the BBQ accomplished, but it was a little more of a challenge than it would be tonight.[p]I just did an overnighter with a couple of pork shoulders. 18+ hours worth. I still have enough lump left to do a couple of evening meals. You can't do that on the Weber. Pulled Pork is probably my favorite cook on the BGE. It really makes people smile. Just sammiches, cole slaw, beans, and maybe a beer.....[p]Mike in MN

Joel Ferman

RG,
I have NEVER cleaned my grill's for my bge, and I never leave the vents fully open.... seems to wprk ok for me.
-Joel

Mike in MN

Kevin,
In the year I have owned a large BGE, I have used my gas grill twice. That was just to satisfy my lovely wife. [p]There is a learning curve with the BGE. Lots of good info available here, but you are still learning a new piece of equipment. It isn't rocket science, but it is different. [p]I can cook a great steak on my old gasser (summertime only, because I can't generate enough heat 6 months out of the year) When they explain cooking steaks here (TRex method) I somewhat struggled to get them done correctly....After umpteen tries, I have it down to where they do work, and my wife isn't hammering me to go back to the old gasser. (translation: no more whining)[p]If I had to do it all over again, there would be no second thoughts or hesitation. I wouldn't look for a cheaper "take off," or alternative. I'd just drive over to the local dealer and have 'em load one up. About 30 minutes to unpack and setup, and you are ready to go. In fact, I'm thinking I could use a second unit, just for a little more flexibility.[p]It opens up a whole new world of food and it's preparation. Imagine cooking a 5-8 pound pork shoulder for 18-20 hours, and when you pull it, the juice runs out of it, you have to be careful removing them from the grill because they want to fall apart![p]Mike in MN[p]

Mike in MN

Kevin,
Go down to the posting "Pictures Revisited (35 or so)" [p]Should just about sum it all up.[p]Mike in MN

Sundown

Kevin,[p]Great is relative. Find someone with an Egg and see if there's any comparison. Most of us have either given our old gassy away or still have them for storage. Looks like you've some reading ahead of you. I'm comtemplating the purchase of my third Egg soon.
Oh, by the way, my neighbor (who wons a gas weber silver something) always comes over when he sees me cranking up the Egg to see what I'll be cooking and if I think there'll be any leftovers. HEHEHEHEHEEHEHE

Zip

Kevin,[p]In general charcoal is a added dimension to the flavor of the cooked item. To me I like the flavor of the charcoal, but I just recently added a Weber Gold C from Amazon to my flock of cookers....(a flock? maybe it is a gaggle? I don't know what to call a group of cookers:~) The flavor is not there like it is with charcoal, but there is a convience of just pushing a button, waiting 15 minutes and then cooking. I guess I've regressed, but a gas grill has it's place at my house....but charcoal is always better.[p]Ashley